PDHblog
This is a place for members of Progressive Democrats of Hawai‘i to express their thoughts
and exasperations about political happenings. The opinions and views are not necessarily
those of PDH's steering committee or membership as a whole.

Ever since the OHA election process was opened up to everyone by the Supreme Court, I have been hesitant to participate in it. I feel that it is not my kuleana; OHA, or any agency that deals only with Hawaiian affairs should be voted on by Hawaiians. Fact of the matter, however, is that if non-Hawaiians like myself who DO believe in Hawaiian self-determination do not vote in OHA, then haole like the ones that challenged OHA to begin with will have a disproportionate say in Hawaiian governance. Sadly this year, I spent more time trying to educate myself about the BOE candidates and the Constitutional and Charter changes and when I voted yesterday I left the OHA section blank because I did not feel like I knew enough about the candidates. How is a non-Hawaiian supposed to get an idea of what candidates would be best for the Hawaiian community?

Yesterday, we wandered over to the get out the vote rally in front of Iolani Palace aimed at the Hawaiian community. Candidates passed through shaking hands, but were not given microphone time. Linda Lingle shook my hand and said, “thankyou” as I wore my Akaka shirt and Impeach Bush/Cheney button. Why did she say thankyou?? I thought it was strange. Anyway, as I was enjoying the beautiful voice of Raiatea Helm, another haole woman wandered up to us and started conversation. I guess she felt we would be approachable since we were also white. She lamented the fact that she did not know who she should vote for on the OHA part of the ballot. She came to this rally hoping to learn more about the candidates and was disappointed that there was no information available. Then she launched into a tirade about how she hates contemporary Hawaiian music… as I was swaying my hips and trying to enjoy it. After arguing with her about the value of the ukulele (which she mis-pronounced) and discovering that she has only been in Hawai‘i for 3 years, I slowly tried to wander away from her so that I could enjoy the music in peace. The ironic part was that this annoying haole, who did not seem to appreciate certain aspects of Hawaiian culture, actually had really good intentions.

Today I got an email from a friend who is familiar with OHA’s operations… If only I got it sooner! This person is recommending Manu Boyd and forwarded on an endorsement from Robert Cazimero.

Aloha,

I am pleased to support the candidacy of my long-time student and friend, Manu Boyd, as an at-large trustee for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, which he has served for more than 14 years as culture specialist, editor and public information director.

I first met Manu 28 years ago, when he was a teen at Kamehameha Schools and began dancing in my Halau Na Kamalei. In 1995, after 17 years of training and experience, I graduated him through traditional ‘uniki rites as a kumu hula, a hula master.

In 1997, he established his own school, Halau o ke ‘A‘ali‘i Ku Makani. Fluent in Hawaiian, Manu is also a prolific songwriter and a highly regarded chanter. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Hawai‘i Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, and has served the community on numerous boards and commissions for many years.

He has become a strong leader, a respected cultural resource and a celebrated entertainer. Since he established the Hawaiian music group Ho‘okena in 1986, he has collected numerous Na Hoku Hanohano awards, and in 2005, a Grammy nomination.

I invite everyone to find out more about Manu at his website, www.manuboyd.com, and to join me in supporting him as an at-large candidate for the OHA Board of Trustees. I trust him to inspire positive change. So should you.

Mahalo nui ke kako‘o. I thank you for your consideration and support!

Robert Uluwehi Cazimero, chairman
Committee to Elect Manu Boyd

I received this email from William Aila Jr, former candidate for governor, the other day:

Aloha Rachel! I write to request that the progressive democrats support all democratic candidates in the general election. I also urge the support of Randall Iwase and Malama Solomon because they provide a clear choice between a future where local culture continues to exist and a Hawaii where local culture gives way to a globalized culture, rendering the aloha spirit mute. They represent our best choice for affordable housing and rentals versus a PR create the illusion approach. Please kokua via your e-mail list and ask everyone to take a friend to the polls. Mahalo!

I have passed on the note to our email list. Furthermore, I was forwarded this note from the Iwase campaign:

From: “The Friends of Randy Iwase”
Lingle Misrepresents the Precentage of National Gaurd Deployed

“Linda Lingle has allowed a higher percentage of National Guard troops to be committed than most other states,” said Democratic gubernatorial candidate Randy Iwase. “The facts are indisputable: The Governor did not fight to limit the number of guard troops committed.

“Just look at the numbers from across the nation and it is clear that Hawaii has been asked to shoulder a disproportionate share of this unjust war. We are a small state, some say like Rhode Island. Yet Rhode Island only committed 19%. We are a state prone to hurricanes and earthquakes, so shouldn’t we be treated like Florida, which has only sent 17%. Or like South Carolina (29%), North Carolina (37%), Mississippi (36%), Louisiana (37%), Alabama (19%), Georgia (21%), or California (32%). And we have a Republican governor like New York which has only sent 31%. Why was Hawaii, small Hawaii, isolated Hawaii been asked to send 50% of its National Guard to war in Iraq?

I saw a rebuttal to this statement by Robert G.F. Lee yesterday on Hawaii Reporter, no surprise. In that article, it seems the main point of rebuttal is that Hawaii does not have a higher percentage than “most” other states, apparently we rank “38th out of the 54 states and territories.” Interestingly, South Carolina is mentioned both in Iwase’s statement and in the rebuttal with different figures.

Lee says:

However, 37 other states and territories have higher percentages, including South Carolina, which has had virtually all of its National Guard troops mobilized, as well as Kentucky, Massachusetts and Puerto Rico, which have had more than 80 percent of their soldiers and airmen mobilized for active duty.

Whereas, Iwase puts them on the low end: “South Carolina (27%)”

Which is right? It is possible that they both are… all depends on how you define the total used to calculated the percentage. Of course, it also depends on the point or period in time that you cite from. In a quick google search to see if I could find independent numbers, I found this snippet in a Kansas newspaper:

Hawaii had the highest mobilization rates, with 26 soldiers called to duty for every 10,000 residents; Florida was the lowest-ranked state, with 1.4 call-ups per 10,000 residents.

Here they report number of national guard troops mobilized as a function of population size, which is different that percentage of total troops in the state that Lee refers to. I wasn’t able to find an independent listing of mobilization rates… I would be interested in looking at one if anyone knows where to find it. Either way, I think Hawaii’s geographic isolation puts us in a unique situation. On the mainland, national guard troops can be mobilized from neighboring states if need be during a disaster, while in Hawaii there aren’t any “neighboring states.”

The national guard statement, and others put out by the Iwase campaign, paint him as a potentially “progressive” politician whom I would love to help put in the Governor’s seat. Yet, I personally, have been very hesitant in promoting him publicly. While I was not politically active when Iwase & Solomon were in the State Senate… the people that I talk to who were, note that neither were particularly progressive. On the other hand, I have been told by several people who “crunched the numbers” that Iwase has a very real chance of winning IF all Dem’s vote D. I think that is a big IF… but, would really kick myself if he came really close and I didn’t vote for him. I do tend to believe that overall a Democrat administration would offer more progressive opportunities than the current Republican one.

As you may know, we recently conducted a vote among our members to determine whether we should push for “priority help” for a few candidates in these last few days before the General Election. Below are the candidates that we would like to highlight.

All of these races may be very close, so anything you can do to help push them over the top would be appreciated.

Abe, Mike - House Dist 19 : 737-3787, www.mikeabe.com
Belatti, Della Au - House Dist 25: 393-0594, www.dellaaubelatti.com
Moepono, Sesnita - House Dist 27: 595-3137, www.sesmoepono.com
Rhoads, Karl - House Dist 28: 271-5995, www.karlrhoads.org
Iwamoto, Kim Coco - BOE at large: 342-0078, kimcoco.com

These are the things you can do to help these priority candidates:

• Vote for them! (if you live in their district)
• Encourage your friends in their district to vote for them
• Call their campaign and see how you can help (waving signs, etc)

We will likely discuss a few volunteer opportunities at our meeting on Thursday night as well.